A childhood different from others
While his peers were playing and carefree, Alex was often on his way to the hospital for heart exams.
In a prenatal exam, the unborn Alex had been diagnosed with a complex congenital heart condition. Immediately after his birth, Alex was sent to the neonatal unit for treatment. During his entire childhood, Alex had to be taken to the cardiologist for routine examinations every three to four weeks. At the age of just five months, Alex had his first heart surgery in his home country. As Alex grew older, his risk of having adverse physiological reactions was reduced and his examinations became less frequent, going from weekly to monthly, then once every six months.
Now, Alex is 12 years old. The doctor has detected that his pulmonary valve is failing and needs to be replaced promptly. As advised by his local doctor, Alex is referred to SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital and soon boards a plane with his mother to Spain for his second heart surgery.
“Alex is a really brave kid, always with a smile on his face. We are hoping that this will be his final surgery.”
—— Alex's Mother
“I have been to many hospitals. This hospital is very different. I know I am in good hands.”
—— Alex
Guard children's health with advanced medical technology
Patients like Alex are treated by interdisciplinary specialists from SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital. As one of the top children's hospitals in Europe and the world, SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital has more than 150 years of experience and expertise in treating complex and rare diseases in children, adolescents, and women. Every year, the hospital receives hundreds of patients from countries with no adequate medical capabilities to treat their complex conditions with more effective and less painful methods. Some parents would discuss the symptom and treatment methods with the hospital professionals before coming to the hospital. With state-of-the-art medical technology, excellent clinical practices, and gentle nursing interventions, the hospital has developed a great reputation for delivering quality medical care to patients.
Pediatric specialists
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Outpatient visits per year
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Pediatric blood tumors, pediatric neurological diseases, congenital heart rhythm diseases,
metabolic diseases, infectious diseases, fetal diseases, and any other rare or genetic diseases
According to statistics, the incidence of congenital heart disease (CHD) in newborns is about 1%, with about 25% having severe CHD. Some patients may develop complications and require urgent treatment. Over the past few decades, SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital has made great progress in the diagnosis and treatment of CHD. Two decades ago, the hospital's specialists could only help newborn babies survive; today, they can provide ongoing treatment for more children like Alex so they can enjoy adulthood.
Specialists at SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital attribute much of this breakthrough to the profound advancements in medical devices, technologies, and solutions that have been specially developed for pediatric patients. Among others, enhanced accessibility of information has made it possible for medical staff to retrieve a complete set of patient-related clinical data from a single monitor at the bedside and from a central station.
Clinicians at SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital are now using the latest Mindray M-Connect IT solution to integrate patient data and full medical records from any point of the hospital throughout a patient's hospital stay. This helps clinicians fully understand each patient's condition and improves diagnostic confidence.
Dr. Francisco Jose Cambra
Chair of the pediatric intensive care unit
Alex's pathology is quite common - of the estimated 200 heart surgeries we do annually, about 25 children may have this type of congenital heart disease so we are very familiar with its treatment.
Dr. Joan Sánchez de Toledo
Chair of the pediatric cardiology department
Congenital heart disease is a rare condition that needs to be treated in referral hospitals. Mindray provides a way to improve the monitoring of our patients from before the surgery, not only during the surgery or in the ICU, but nowadays also on the floor. Monitoring those patients constantly gives us valuable information about heart rate, blood pressure, and brain function in a timely manner, which gives us feedback and the opportunity to anticipate critical events, and enables us to intervene on time.
Interdisciplinary collaboration delivers more effective treatment for patients like Alex, and integrated data platforms hold great potential for informing clinical decision-making. Cortex centre (e-care centre), in this case, is designed and developed on the intelligent management of information generated in the hospital by the patient, family and their environment. The aim is that the data collected and analyzed will be useful for care, decision making and the creation of predictive care and logistics models.
In 2020, SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital's Cortex was set up as the hospital-wide clinical information hub. Behind the scenes, Mindray's M-Connect solution is integrating real-time vital signs monitoring by enabling data to flow between bedside monitors and electronic medical records. As information flows freely across the hospital, medical staff can work more efficiently and enhance the care and safety of patients.
Dr. Juan José Lázero Alcay
Anesthesiologist, physician, MD
I think SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital has a strong ally. We work extremely well with Mindray and together, we are constantly developing better ways to care for our little patients.
For treatment of patients like Alex, seamless information flow and the state-of-the-art screen technology give caregivers real-time information on patients, so they can make the right decisions. The BeneVision N series patient monitors from Mindray feature delivers clear, multi-color, wide-format displays for users to capture and review information at a glance. With multi-touch operation, users can control the monitor and review patient data quickly and easily.
CrozFusion, Mindray's state-of-the-art technology which combines and analyzes SpO2 waveforms and ECG to increase the accuracy of heart rate and pulse rate, has seen effective results in reducing false arrhythmia alarm notifications to boost productivity. The monitors also features some advanced clinical assistive applications (CAAs), and have been recognized for their excellent utility in decision-making support as they speed up and optimize workflows ranging from patient data collection to analysis and reporting.
Dr. Xavier Escayola
Chair of the bioengineering department
Mindray has really helped the hospital advance its patient monitoring. It's not just about the monitors and equipment - we've radically changed our workflows so they're much more efficient and our partnership with Mindray has given us the chance to test new technologies. I feel that Mindray is absolutely focused on developing what the hospital needs to improve the security and experiences of our patients. They work very closely with us so we put the best solutions in place.
An unexpected playground
When Alex walked into the hospital, the play facilities and laughing children immediately put him at ease. From the piano to the slide to the flying bird toys, the place looks more like a playground than a hospital!
Human-friendly facilities and patient-focused care that encourages family involvement are what the specialists at SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital take pride in. To look after the mental wellbeing of pediatric patients and their families, each department is staffed with dedicated social workers who provide companionship and guidance as appropriate for each family. When Alex's mother needs a break, the hospital's volunteers will take care of Alex, play with him in the playroom, or bring some toys, picture books, or a computer to his room. The hospital also has a well-trained doctor puppy tagged with a worker ID, who can snuggle up to Alex. The warmth and vibrancy of the hospital has freed Alex from the loneliness and anxiety of being treated in a foreign country, making his recovery easier.
Music therapy has been used in the hospital for years. The hospital holds small concerts in the hall every month. By listening to and performing music, the children can relieve their pain and feel more relaxed. On Children's Day in 2022, SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital held an online concert together with the Children's Hospital of Zhejiang University School of Medicine. Children from the two countries shared beautiful pieces of music and big smiles via a video link as they celebrated together.
Dr. Juan José Lázero Alcay
Anesthesiologist, physician, MD
We are very concerned about the families in this hospital. For many years now we have fought for parents to be continuously by their children's side to the point that in all anesthesia inductions, when we put a child to sleep, the mom or dad is present inside the operating room.
Bring more genuine smiles to the world
Specialists at SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital have offered many insights into how to better treat children like Alex in the future. Despite the highly advanced technologies at the hospital, it remains a challenge to predict complications for patients. Precision medicine means the right treatment is given to the right patient at the right time. The medical staff must be able to keep track of the patient's real-time state and make prompt and accurate predictions. This places greater demands on the information collection, storage, and management capabilities of the hospital's devices. The specialists look forward to further advancements in artificial intelligence technology so they can proactively offer timely, effective, and predictable monitoring for patients inside and outside of the hospital.
Another challenge is sustainability. All the new devices and treatments come at a high cost. This cost is a major strain on the healthcare system as a whole, and on each hospital in particular. This requires the joint efforts of healthcare providers, the industry, the healthcare system, and hospitals to find a way forward that benefits all.
Dr. Miquel Pons
Medical Director of SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital
Deep down, Mindray pursues excellence in its products. And we seek excellence in results, in the care of our patients. That synergy is important. The best equipment, and the best technology, help us achieve the best results. It is a collaboration that can bear many fruits and with which we are very satisfied.
Mindray is poised to continue working with SJD Barcelona Children's Hospital to explore more new approaches to pediatric medical care and give our best to care for patients and keep them smiling.
